An introduction

I have many things I would like to discuss and think about in this space, but first I must begin with an introduction. I am Alexander Rolnick and I am going to Tanzania in early August to teach English in the Tanzanian school system. I expect most of the people who will take the time to read this space will know those details, but one cannot assume too much. In this blog I would like to synthesize my thoughts leading up to and during my time in Tanzania with more general thoughts about my academic interests.  I often have ideas that I would like to put on paper, and I think a blog provides an excellent opportunity to do so, even if nobody ever ends up reading it. So, without further ado, some details about myself and what I will be doing next year.

I graduated last spring from Western Washington University with a double major in Political Science, and an Interdisciplinary Concentration from Fairhaven College that focused on the intersection of history, law, and political theory as they relate to democracy. While in college I found myself drawn to the study of Africa, but as college ended I was unsure of what I wanted to do. It wasn’t until I taught a class in the final quarter of my senior year of college that I began to recognize that I was actually really passionate about teaching. When I reflected on the process leading up to this class, I realized that much of my education had been about education itself. I hadn’t actually studied education, but what I realized was that a significant portion of my studies involved critically thinking about relaying information and ideas to other students.

Throughout college I had struggled to balance how I might work to make a difference in the world with my passion to learn more completely about the world I wanted to make a difference in. I realized over the course of my class that I could do this by teaching. But I was teaching relatively privileged students in a college environment, when most people in the world have minimal access to education. This is especially true for Africa, which is a major reason I want to teach in Tanzania. A long history of colonial exploitation has led to underdevelopment in places like Tanzania, and current global systemic inequities keep this underdevelopment the status quo. I believe that by teaching English in Tanzania I can not only further my own interests, but give back to the world in an important way.

So, I applied to a nonprofit organization called WorldTeach that places volunteers as teachers in developing countries. In early-mid August I will leave for Tanzania to teach English in the Tanzanian school system, which is plagued by a lack of Secondary School teachers. Today, there are around 85,000 teacher vacancies in secondary schools nationwide. In schools with 1,500 students it is not uncommon for there to be only 10 teachers. While Tanzanians take an ‘English’ class in primary school, their classes are all taught in Kiswahili. In Secondary School, English becomes the language of instruction, as English is a requirement for students to go on to university. I have the opportunity to not only make an important contribution to Tanzanian development, but also the chance to make a direct impact on my students, and to be involved in an important cross-cultural exchange.

As a WorldTeach volunteer, I will bring my passion for learning about the world to students, in attempt to try and open their minds to world, or at least understand it a little better. Through this process, I believe that my students will have the opportunity to better their own lives as well as the lives of those in their communities. I firmly believe that one of the most powerful ways to create change in society is by positively affecting the lives of individuals, and this is something I am most certainly capable of. The liberating potential of education is endless, and I very much want to help make potential reality. Of course, I must have realistic expectations as I begin this journey, but I really do believe that I can make a difference, however small it might be.